Track Selling Times: The Voice of the Sales Profession

Track Selling Times - March, 2000

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Track Selling Times
The Voice of the Sales Profession
Issue No. 124
March 1, 2000
Published by Max Sacks International,
Home of 100% Guaranteed World Class Sales Training
Developers of the Track Selling System™.
Author/Editor: Roy Chitwood, President, MSI

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In This Issue:

Feature:

" Crossing the Chasm Between Mediocrity and Stardom"
by Roy E. Chitwood, CSP, CSE

Sections:

Integrity Pays:
"Caring Enough about Your Customers"

World Class Sales Management:
"Securing Your Position within an Organization"
by Bill Strelke

Focus on the Professional:
"Jamie Miller"
Learn how this salesperson expanded his business by a factor of six within one year.

Book Review -
High-Tech Product Launch
by Catherine Kitcho

Ask Roy: Ask Roy Chitwood

Survey - Reader Survey

Newsletter Archives

"Crossing the Chasm Between Mediocrity and Stardom"
by Roy E. Chitwood, CSP, CSE

The difference between a successful sales professional and an also-ran can be little more than a few easy steps. But multiply those actions by 40 hours a week, 50 weeks every year and they add up to a huge gulf between the star and the struggling salesperson.

If you want to join the ranks of the top performers, what do you need to do? One excellent tool to help you bridge the gap between mediocrity and stardom is the 'Wheel of Activity'. Look upon the hub of the wheel as planning.

People who get things done plan everything they do. That's why they are able to pack so much into the average day. While planning is at the hub, it also spreads into other activities, which are represented as five spokes - prospecting, selling, service, personal and study.

When it comes to prospecting, many salespeople find excuses not to do it or find someone else to blame for the lack of good leads - big mistake. The key is to plan on doing a set amount of prospecting each and every day and not let anything else interfere with your prospecting activity.

Planning is every bit as important in selling, too. I've made a lot of sales calls in the last forty years, and success comes in direct proportion to the degree of planning that goes into each call. Another vital sales planning step is to treat your golden hours - those times when your prospects are most likely to be available - with respect. These times will vary depending on your industry. Doctors, for instance, are often hard to contact on Wednesday afternoon while accountants will be extremely reluctant to hear sales presentations in the weeks prior to April 15th.

In business-to-business selling, peak calling times are obvious during the workday, while in real estate and insurance, it may be evenings and weekends. Doing proposals and paperwork during your golden hours costs you sales, so plan your days to maximize the number of sales calls during these peak times.

One oft-neglected aspect of the sales job is service. While it may not be the dominant spoke of the activity wheel, invest at least a few minutes each day to make sure your clients are happy. As well as showing them you care, this kind of communication makes you aware of situations and gives you the chance to be proactive before a competitor gains an edge. Remember that your best customer is likely to be your competitor's hottest prospect. Why not call one customer each and every day just to thank them for their business?

Next on the Wheel of Activity are personal activities. While it is true those who rise to the top work hard and long, there is no point in getting there if you and those around you don't enjoy it. Make sure you carve some time out of your busy schedule to spend with the family, friends or doing things you like to do. But again, it will only happen if you plan it carefully and don't let anything else get in the way. Also, make time for regularly scheduled activities like exercise, car maintenance and a host of other things you need to take care of.

Last but not least is study - a step that takes a lot of careful planning. School is never out for the professional. But even as little as 15 minutes a day of reading gets you through an average of 18 books a year. Plan your own personal enhancement so you continue to grow. After all, your own greatest asset is your own undeveloped potential. What are you doing about that potential today?

Integrity Pays:
"Caring Enough About Your Customers"

Lack of customer care is readily apparent in the world around us. That's why when service sparkles it really stands out. A recent example serves to illustrate the difference between just doing a job and really caring about the needs of each and every customer. It concerns Perry Smith, Bell Captain at the Hampton Inn in downtown Cleveland.

What is your attitude towards service?

"When I punch in, I'm there for guests. I'm not just getting a paycheck. I treat people the way I would want to be treated, and that means the customer is my first and only concern. If you're in a people handling job and you don't give 110 percent, you shouldn't be doing it."

Why is service so vital?

"Most arriving guests have had a long day's travel, often fraught with mishaps. It's our place to make their day finish well - no matter what occurred earlier. As a result, few, if any, guests ever have anything to get angry at. Instead of venting rage, they end up moored in a safe haven at the end of a hectic day's traveling."

What about difficult requests?

"I had a last-minute request for tickets to an Indians game that I really didn't think I could fulfill. But it was important to the guest, so I stayed positive. After a few calls, someone came through, and the guest went to the game. After all, these people are from out of town and don't know anyone. It's up to us to make them feel welcome and to help them enjoy themselves while they are with us."

What are the rewards of service?

"After a few guests handed in comment cards about me, the manager took notice and gave me a promotion. But that's not why I do it. Helping others is reward enough."

If you take care of your clients and prospects like Perry does, you'll be a big success. And if you aren't, reevaluate what your doing and why. Then either put some more effort into service, or find another line of work where you feel willing to invest your energies into truly helping your customers.

World Class Sales Management:
    "Securing Your Position within an Organization"
     by Bill Strelke, Executive Vice President of
     Advanced Training Solutions, Issaquah, WA

I've worked in sales management for over twelve years, and one of the big errors I see is managers who focus only on targets and goals. They set a clear direction, give out quotas and insist they be met. Yet somehow, they fall short.

What they are neglecting is the softer side of sales. By 'softer side' I mean including your team in the bigger picture, briefing them on strategy and letting them know what is expected in the area of customer service as well as sales. Due to the competitive nature of the current business world, this means cultivating rapport with administrators as well as buyers and users.

The sales manager, who only pushes quotas, might not notice when his or her sales staff does not keep management appraised of products returns. Yet this can be a sign a competitor has the opportunity to gain the upper hand and persuade your customers to try another brand.

For instance, we call on several large hospitals. If we didn't set up our territory properly by spending time with administrators as well as buyers, we would have lost account after account. Yet some managers under me get so concerned about meeting the quota, they'd allow those under them to let it slide, simply by not paying attention.

The solution is to regularly review the performance of each sales person with regard to hard sales and also the softer side. Instead of just criticizing someone who's falling short, lead by example and show them how it's done.

For example, if a new person is not succeeding in gaining entry to higher executives, have that individual listen in while you arrange an interview.

Take it one step further, and have him or her sit in on your first meeting to see exactly how you establish a firm relationship. This is where the Track Selling System becomes so vital. Instead of opinion or guesswork about what is being done right or wrong, it offers an exact system that, if followed, gets results. By showing your salespeople how to apply the seven steps of selling or the five buying decisions with administrators as well as buyers, big improvements can be realized.

Particularly when the competition is tough, a small amount of effort each day on the softer side, pays big dividends. By securing your position at all levels within the organization, you make it much harder for anyone else to successfully invade your territory.

Bill Strelke can be contacted at bill@advtraining.com.

Focus on the Professional -
"Jamie Miller" President, Leadmark Inc.

Jamie Miller is president of Ottawa-based Leadmark Inc, a company that provides personal development, business and motivation products to the selling, entrepreneur and network marketing fields.

How has the Track Selling System helped you?

"When I first started in this business, I was too fixated on selling products. I would take off-the-shelf merchandise and try to make people see they needed to buy what I had to sell. As a result, I was mainly working in a cold market, spending lots on advertising and having a hard time getting referrals. I felt as though I had to justify who I was and argue about the value of personal development every time I called on people."

What did you change?

"I realized we weren't so much selling products as helping people achieve their goals. Selling became simpler when I could uncover the true needs of the customer, really understand the situation and then be able to link those needs to our services and products."

How did this transform your business?

"We went from a cold to a warm market in a matter of months. By following the steps of the Track Selling System, we established credibility among trade associations and created demand for our goods. The system helped me to ask questions, think creatively and present solutions to the underlying problems of clients, such as staff retention. It has become relationship selling at another level."

What are the results in your business?

"We did six times the business in 1999 than we did in '98, and the average sale size has risen by thirty to forty percent. People are also happy to refer us to their associates, which also means we have been able to cut our advertising budget by 80 percent."

You can visit Leadmark's Web site at www.Leadmark.ca.

Book Review - High Tech Product Launch
by Catherine Kitcho (Pele Publications)

What a pleasure to get some real nuts-and-bolts, high-tech marketing data from an industry insider. Kitcho worked for a variety of Silicon Valley players before turning to product- launch consulting a few years ago. She also lectures on the subject at the University of California at Berkeley.

This excellent book goes into every aspect of managing and marketing a successful product launch. It covers in great detail how to plan each facet of the process and lays it out in an easy-to-read fashion. I particularly enjoyed how it uses product features and benefits to develop a comprehensive marketing plan.

Additionally, Kitcho covers the development of positioning statements and key messages, how to assemble effective launch teams, how to identify the right collateral for the product, the deployment of internal marketing programs, working with press and analysts, international considerations and how to market for channels.
It can be purchased from http://www.pelepubs.com

Ask Roy

Hilary Litbarski from Fort Mill, SC, asks,

" I'm still at the uncomfortable stage in selling, and I'm not totally sure it's for me. I feel self-conscious and I'm always worried that I come across pushy or fake. How do I get out of what I feel is the sales stereotype and begin to actually enjoy it? "

Roy's Answer:

Track Selling System

Reader Survey

1. What do you think of Track Selling Times?
2. What else would you like to see included?
3. If you have sales questions for Roy, or know of a salesperson, sales manager or integrity story that should be featured in Track Selling Times, mail it to:

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